Testimonials »

Testimonials from the Professional Community

“Thank you for your wonderful talk on be half of The Junior Academy. All participants have given us positive feedback and are eager to use some of the strategies. We use many of Jennifer’s ideas at the school already and feel reassured by her guidance.” Kristine Locklin

“Today was amazing I cannot tell you how much I and all the other parents and staff enjoyed hearing Jennifer speak. I think we could have listened to her all day! She had so many valuable things to say and she was just so down-to-earth and entertaining that I think everyone can relate to what she was saying in some way or another.”

“A tremendous evening! I thoroughly enjoyed it; it was worth missing Grey’s Anatomy for. Anyone I have spoken to thought the presentation was funny, entertaining and gave great parental advice. I could have listened for another two hours.”

Parent at Alexander Mackenzie High School

“Jennifer Kolar’s skillful interventions using her highly effective technique of enhancing communication between children and their parents has been an invaluable asset for many years. Connected Parenting has filled a very important gap in traditional approaches to helping parents raise their children and has focused on new techniques that enhance the reciprocal nurturing of the child and the parents.”

“In my 25 years of family medicine, I have encountered but a handful of superlative child therapists; Jennifer Kolari is one of these gifted people. Overall, my patients’ feedback has convinced me that the Connected Parenting approach is effective in promoting healthier family relationships.”

-Dr. Pauline Pariser, Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto

“The Connected Parenting book is going to be a required reading in any subsequent courses I teach on child and adolescent psychotherapy.”

Our staff and parent communities truly enjoyed listening to Jennifer Kolari’s insights into communicating with children. She is a natural storyteller, who uses humour to help her audience understand that while parenting is not always an easy road, there are things we can do to help make it just a little less bumpy! Her wealth of both practical and theoretical knowledge make her a very valuable resource.

– The Mabin School

We had Jennifer Kolari come to Whitestone Lake Central School to speak to parents in an evening program about “Connected Parenting”. We really did not know what to expect and had allotted two hours. Jennifer is a very engaging speaker with a very good sense of humour and a wealth of knowledge about brain development and child behaviour. Her presentation was extremely interesting and everyone would have listened for another hour! It was an extremely worthwhile evening. Many parents have since used some of the “Connected Parenting” strategies and are asking when Jennifer will be back for more!

– Whitestone Lake Central School

The Connected Parenting workshop was so well received by the parents at Kleinburg Public School. Jennifer was funny and engaging and the examples she used really resonated with the audience. By the end of the evening parents gathered around to speak to one another about how we were going to put the Connected Parenting principles to work in our own lives. Jennifer was very inspiring…we believe that this method of parenting will make a difference in the way we raise our children.

– Kleinburg Public School

“Our camp staff immediately came up to the director/owners of the camp to thank us for having her come to speak. They said she was one of the best speakers we have ever had because the material she gave was so useful and practical. We can’t wait to have Jennifer come back next year.”

– Camp Manitou

“Trish and I are witnessing a lot of awareness in our staff about empathy first, then problem solve. It’s been a great skill to marry with our collaborative problem solving approach. Staff have come to me directly and have said: “I mirrored! and it really worked! It’s amazing how easy and affective it is.” My perspective is that it is a very important skill that is part of the whole Towhee approach, that we have never been fully successful in teaching. (Though, a lot of us already do it.) Jennifer is just incredibly talented at teaching it.”

– Camp Towhee

“It has been about a month since Jennifer spoke at our school, St. Andrews PS and I am still receiving compliments and positive feedback from parent, I want to make sure Jennifer is aware of the impact she has on parents. The passion Jennifer has for ‘connecting’ children with their parents in a simple way of communicating is astounding.”

Thank you Jennifer, for taking the time to share a different perspective on how we can relate to our kids.

– Sandra, St. Andrews Public School

“I just wanted to express my thanks for the wonderful talk you gave last night at Leo Baeck. I spend a lot of time thinking and worrying about the difficult environments that our children are growing up in today and it was so comforting to hear my concerns echoed in your words. You are so dynamic, engaging and you presented your information in a relatable, clear and “easy to action” way that I felt very empowered when I left. By the way, I’m the Mom that had the Snapchat example. Thanks again. I hope to be able to hear you speak on other topics in the future.”

– Leo Baeck Day School, North Campus

Testimonials from Parents

“What can we say about Jennifer except we ALL love her?!! She has been instrumental in bringing our family back together and getting thru life’s hurdles. I would highly recommend her to anyone!”

“Jennifer has been a God-send. Her knowledge, experience, and intuition have been invaluable in helping our daughter through a very difficult time in her life. She has the ability to connect with our daughter to help guide her through this.”

“Jennifer Kolari has the extraordinary ability to understand the workings of the teen and preteen mind. When my daughter felt like no one else understood her, Jennifer did. Anyone who has the opportunity to benefit from Jennifer’s insight should count themselves extremely lucky.”

“Just when you think you’re the worst parent in the world bringing up hateful alien demons, the Connected Parenting techniques remind you that you are NOT-you’re raising children you love. I’ve learned how to truly put aside my own agenda and be in the moment with my child. Mistakes are accepted and even welcomed as an opportunity to repair.”

-Robin, Connected Parenting client

“We felt we had tried every parenting technique in the world and nothing seemed to make a difference in helping us and our son cope with the difficult behaviors he has because of ADHD. It felt like there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Then we found Connected Parenting. These strategies were crucial to rebuilding the bonds of trust and respect that the challenging behaviors had eroded.”

-Michael, Connected Parenting client

Book Testimonials

My daughter Zara is 6 1/2 and was diagnosed with Asperger’s 3 years ago. We have been struggling with a number of issues, including sensory sensitivities, meltdowns, and powers struggles over the smallest things. Zara has done a lot of therapy, and has made huge strides, ‎but still seemed to have so much anger inside, which she would mostly direct at me. She recently started therapy at The Listening Centre, where I happened on a copy of your book. I read it twice while she was in her sessions and have been practicing the CALM and baby play techniques for just under a week.

As I write this I have to stop because I keep crying. I finally feel like I have connected with Zara. We have had more peace and happiness in our house in the past few days than in the past few months.‎ Yesterday on a two-hour car ride she was on the verge of melting down over a sibling refusing to share a toy, and we even managed to calm our way out of that. That night at bedtime she said “Mummy can I talk to you?” and shared something that was bothering her at school. She hasn’t down that in the longest time. I did a lot of listening and mirroring before offering a solution and when I did she accepted it with a smile!

I am a problem solver by nature, and realize that before your book I was always minimizing her discomfort or trying to “fix” things, instead of just empathizing with her and letting her come to her own realization, with some gentle guidance. The result was that she dug in her heels and we ended up fighting, screaming, and angry.‎ All she wanted was to feel heard, and I just didn’t let myself hear her.

This has been the best Valentine’s Day ever. No fighting, no yelling, just a happy family day. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.‎

– Tasha

"Connected Parenting advises us not just how to parent, but—far more important—who to be as parents. The therapeutic methods suggested by Jennifer Kolari are based not on simple-minded behavioural solutions, but on building warm, nurturing relationships with our children, with insight and compassion not only for their little flaws, but also for our own larger ones." —Gabor Maté, M.D.

"A must read for parents, educators, and any other adults who want to connect in a deeply caring and positive way with the children in their lives." —Barbara Coloroso